While I was in the wheel well, there was no way I was going to just let the rust from my battery failure stay put. So, I put a wire brush in my drill and got to work removing rust from everywhere. It took several cycles of using and recharging my power drill batteries, but I was able to get the rust scrubbed from every last nook and cranny on the frame and engine bay. The battery tray area was particularly bad. I may remove that tray and develop a plastic replacement in the future.
I just added an extra coat of VHT roll bar and chassis black on all of it this morning. That will take it from this perfect satin black to a semi gloss, but it will still look nice and the rust protection is much improved with the extra coating.
Well, I was stitching away at my new alcantara steering wheel wrap when suddenly...the stitches popped like some cheap pepboys steering wrap. 2.5 months of waiting shot down the drain. They didn't leave enough material for the wrap to close around the wheel and so the stitching popped when I tried to get it to close. Redline's quality really has gone down the drain these past years. I really can't believe these are the same people who made my wrap from years ago (which worked perfectly).
Looking at it closely, a large part of the problem is the fact that they have sewn the tabs at the seams on top of each other instead of spread apart as you would normally see. This makes it difficult for the material to stretch and overcome the lack of extra material. 20210604_132738 by Jose, on Flickr
Well, the pipes are welded in, the rust proofing is done, the Tacoma specific stoptech brake lines are on, and the brakes are bled. The pedal feels rock solid and I am happy to finally be (almost) done with this project!
This upper pipe secures the bushing perfectly. I don't see the rod failure happening ever again. 20210604_185818 by Jose, on Flickr
I am quite happy with the Tacoma specific brake lines. At full lock in either direction and no kinking 20210605_125229 by Jose, on Flickr 20210605_125259 by Jose, on Flickr
While I was in there I discovered why my AC doesn't work. Looks like either the seals at the compressor are bad or the lines themselves are 20210605_141905 by Jose, on Flickr
Here is the latest video update of where I was with the truck. I'll follow this up with a final video for the big brake series and then probably make a condensed version with just the necessary details.
Will be taking the truck for a spin soon. Excited to see what the Brembos bring to the table. Hopefully, the unsprung weight won't have increased too much.
I ended up buying heat resistant vinyl and cutting out the old school Brembo logos. I applied them to each caliper and then clear coated over for good measure.
The goal was to look like the Brembo calipers on my old GSXR, I think it came out pretty good 20210608_144415 by Jose, on Flickr 20210608_143642 by Jose, on Flickr
I had taken the truck for a spin last week and was not happy with the way the brakes felt. I did a full bleed of all corners of the system and the pedal feels much better. Another test drive will reveal whether or not it needs more bleeding.
This whole process has revealed other things I need to fix. One is the intake scoop in the grill has begun to crack, another is the source of my AC system not working, and the final is that my front bumper is all rusted underneath (aftermarket replacement). While everything is apart, I will probably replace the radiator fans and wire up a fan controller of some sort.
While I get those, more important things done, I figured I would have some fun with the 3D printer. So, I went ahead and printed this to replace the Lexus logo in the IS300 wheel I got. This was the second test piece, just to verify fitment. I will make the final one in black once my new roll of black filament arrives. 20210616_222803 by Jose, on Flickr
Well, the black plastic came in and my two Lexus wheels are officially getting rebranded. The print looks really good. Now I just need to sand down the silver trim on the bottom and spray it black.
Here is what the steering wheel looks like once assembled. I really like the look. It's going to be even better once that silver is gone! 20210618_165957 by Jose, on Flickr
In order to get the hood ready for restoration, I cut the excess material hanging from the bottom where the vent is. Now that this is cleaned, I can fit a mesh in from the bottom. However, before I do that, I am going to wet sand and then clear coat the entire hood. Before even doing that, I have a couple of defects and holes in it the hood that need to be filled with epoxy. 20210622_164554 by Jose, on Flickr
Here it is after it dried in the sun (I rinsed it to get off the dust from cutting the excess material). I have to say, it looks way better just by not having that bit of material exposed at the vent. Now you just see pure engine bay. I can't wait to have it all polished, clear coated, and meshed. 20210622_183233 by Jose, on Flickr
As part of the process of restoring the hood, I decided that the windshield washer holes had to go. The hole I mistakenly made years ago (when cutting the openings for the hood hooks) also had to go. In order to do this, I cut small squares of aluminum foil and taped them down over the holes atop the hood. Then, I flipped the hood over and poured some clear epoxy into each of the three covered holes. 20210622_212229 by Jose, on Flickr
Once that dried just enough to get tacky, I put a small piece of carbon fiber in each. Then, I added more epoxy in order to soak the carbon. Once that was dry, I flipped the hood over and removed the tape/foil. From there, I added more epoxy from the top side. Once that dries, I will sand it down flush with the top of the hood. 20210623_171518 by Jose, on Flickr
Up close, you will always see the difference at these points- especially since the carbon I used is a different weave. However, I don't care too much about that. I was more concerned with filling it. I may also paint the center of the hood, so it may very well go unnoticed.
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